After enjoying summer months in the picturesque European countryside, I must confess that, once the jet lag passed, I felt a little jaded about coming home to the depths of winter in Canberra. ​"I want to play tourist again," I told Peter. "Some place not too far from home and, preferably, a destination we haven't previously explored." My wish came to fruition with the arrival of an invitation to visit the New South Wales Southern Highlands following the launch of the Fitzroy Falls food and wine cluster.

Greetings to you from Budapest in Hungary, where my summer holidays will soon be drawing to a close. This postcard depicts a stone statue of Saint Stephen (Szent István, 969-1038), King of Hungary, which sits on Gellért Hegy (hill) with the Danube River and Szabadság híd (Liberty Bridge) as the magnificent backdrop. It is one of my absolute favourite monuments in this most beautiful city.

One of the things the foodie traveller MUST do whilst in the city of Bath is to visit Sally Lunn's historic eating house and partake in a Sally Lunn bun with whipped butter and jam. A cup of English tea is the quintessential accompaniment.

When was the last time you bathed in the forest? I'm not referring to the cooling shower you might take under a tropical waterfall, nor skinny-dipping in a billabong under the shade of a Coolabah tree.

Sitting at the kitchen table, all we can hear lately on weekday mornings (and all day long) is the sound of earthmoving machinery and trucks excavating the centre of the road, making way for the light rail, which is said to be coming one day. We long for some quiet, so an invitation to enjoy a short break in the countryside is most gratefully accepted.

"Which side of the Danube would you like to be on, Buda or Pest?" Peter, the patron saint of bookings, asked, when he was planning our itinerary. He had never been to Budapest, and it had been more than a decade since my last visit, so we sat down together at the computer and poured over the map of the city on Google Earth.

'Just look at the "picture-skew" view from our balcony,' Peter exclaimed, as he drew back the curtains in our room. He had been longing for us to stay at the Sebel Harbourside in Kiama - among his favourite hotels in the region and one he had frequented when travelling as a Search and Rescue Training Officer with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. 'I love this place, it's such a nice hotel' he added. 'And wait until you see the outlook from the breakfast bistro!'

Welcome...

Üdvözölöm

​Cooking and writing have been a lifelong passion.​Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes; postcards and morsels from my travels; conversations with cookery writersand chefs; and news on food, cookbooks ​and cooking.​- Liz Posmyk